Morge (Lake Geneva)

River in Switzerland

Morge

The mountain creek Morge forms the border in Saint Gingolph. Left site is French, right site is Swiss.

Native name| La Morge (French)
Location
Countries| France, Switzerland
Regions| Haute-Savoie, Valais
Physical characteristics
Source| North side of the Dent du Vélan
• location| France / Switzerland
• coordinates| 46°21′00″N 6°46′20″E﻿ / ﻿46.34988°N 6.77228°E﻿ / 46.34988; 6.77228
• elevation| 2,700 m (8,900 ft)
Mouth| Lake Geneva

• location

| Saint-Gingolph

• coordinates

| 46°23′39″N 6°48′19″E﻿ / ﻿46.39419°N 6.80524°E﻿ / 46.39419; 6.80524

• elevation

| 372 m (1,220 ft)
Length| 7.88 km (4.90 mi)[1]
Basin size| 19.7 km2 (7.6 sq mi)[2]
Basin features
Progression| Lake Geneva→ Rhône→ Mediterranean Sea

The Morge, also called Morge de Saint-Gingolph, is a river in the Alps. Its course marks the border between France and Switzerland, between the canton of Valais and Haute-Savoie, southeast of Lake Geneva.

## Geography

[edit]

With a length of 7.88 km (4.90 mi),[1] the Morge has its source on the northern side of the Dent du Vélan, in the French municipality of Bernex and then flows north through the Morge valley, passes near Novel and then flows into Lake Geneva at Saint-Gingolph.

The Morge stream was recognized as the boundary between Savoyard or Lower Valais and episcopal or Upper Valais since 1384,[3] and the Treaty of Thonon of March 4, 1569 sets the border between Savoy and Valais in La Morge.

## Name

[edit]

The "Morge" is a hydronym derived from a Celtic root *morg, itself a metathesis of *mrog, from the Indo-European root *mer[e]g-, designating a "border, demarcation, limit". In Latin, it will give the form margo, margins, also designating a "edge, border, border boundary, bank".[4] The river shares this origin with the Morge de Conthey and the Morges Vaudoise;[5] it is sometimes called "Morge de Saint-Gingolph" to avoid confusion with that of Conthey.[6]

The river seems to be mentioned in the form Morgia in the 12th and 13th centuries.[4]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Sandre. "Fiche cours d'eau - la Morge (V0300500)". Retrieved 20 August 2024.
2. ^ "La Morge (VS) - Saint-Gingolph, réseau hydrographique VECTOR25, ordre des cours d'eau et bassins versants partiels 2km², map.geo.admin.ch".
3. ^ Coolidge, W. A. B. (1911). "Valais" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). pp. 839–840.839-840&rft.edition=11th&rft.date=1911&rft.aulast=Coolidge&rft.aufirst=W.+A.+B.&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Morge+(Lake+Geneva)" class="Z3988">
4. ^ a b Suter, Henry (2000–2009). "Noms de lieux de Suisse romande, Savoie et environs" [Place names of French-speaking Switzerland, Savoy and surroundings]. henrysuter.ch (in French). Retrieved 20 August 2024..
5. ^ Kraege, Charles (1999). Rivières romandes: à la source de leurs noms. Gilbert Künzi, Richard Berger. Yens-sur-Morges: Ed. Cabédita. p. 59\. ISBN 2-88295-247-3. OCLC 718006285.
6. ^ Tamini, Jean-Émile (1929). "Les deux Morge" (PDF). Petites annales valaisannes (in French): 78–80.78-80&rft.date=1929&rft.aulast=Tamini&rft.aufirst=Jean-Émile&rft_id=https://doc.rero.ch/record/7347/files/I-N177-1929p-015.pdf&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Morge+(Lake+Geneva)" class="Z3988">